My dance before children
My journey into dance has been a series of mazes trying different styles from 1960’s thrashing to study of many forms of improvisation, and finally entering formal dance training with modern, tap, ballet, ballroom, tango, and Latin dancing. I discovered that when I dance something connects inside. I am exuberant and somehow able to clear away negative thoughts and bound up places in my everyday life. I go past obstacles. I bring my whole body and mind to the task. And the next day, I apply that exuberance and that learning to my relationships, my job, my creativity, my hopes, and dreams.
My first breakthrough with dance was in a Japanese Karate class. I loved the dance form that crystallized the fighting movements. And I was good at it. The second breakthrough was sparring with 10 year old kids. We connected in a way that was not happening with us older types. There was a kind of click that would happen when the ten year old and I began to explore together. We were learning from each other. I loved entering the exuberance and the delight of those moments of exploration.
It would be many years later when I discovered that children use movement to explore. Because I loved teaching as my first profession and because I loved dance as exploration, I began to notice how children use movement.
Tags: dancing with children